We were asked to run the final three days of the university’s introductory residential for 2018’s MBA intake (about 55 in all). The emphasis was on collaborative learning, and bonding them as a cohort. We introduced them to concepts such as Johari Window, giving & receiving feedback, high-performing teams, conflict management and cultural sensitivity (there were 21 nationalities from Europe, Asia, Americas, Africa etc). The final day was spent at an outdoor leadership centre where we facilitated their learning (in the rain…) while undertaking team and leadership tasks.

Working with a group of 20 logistics managers, we kicked-off the first module on their talent programme. We used Insights Discovery to profile their personal style, looked at some detail at leadership styles, and then at how to develop high-performing teams.

Jon is now heading up the delivery of a blended programme for leaders in Europe, Asia and the Americas. The programme, known as the Professional Leadership Development Program, comprises two modules of 4.5 days each, webinars, psychometrics, self-directed learning and action-learning sets. Four programmes were run in 2017, and the same number is projected to run in 2018. Participants are drawn from the company’s Global Business Services shared services centre, comprising IT, Finance, Procurement, Real Estate, Legal & HR.

The programme is already having an impact on how these leaders are being perceived as leaders, and also on how they provide their services to the functional businesses. As a result of attending, managers have developed a leadership mindset by being more self-aware reflective practitioners and self-directed learners.

We have been privileged to welcome a new client this Autumn – a small group of family-owned companies supplying hi-tech solutions to the defence and civil marine market.

The group has introduced its first performance management system to help it manage growth, and we took the directors and management team through a two-day workshop to develop the skills and confidence in conducting performance reviews.

In addition, we have just led a team awayday for one of the divisions – the first of its kind for the company – which allowed people to get to know each other better, hear plans for the coming period, and respond to the challenge of growth.

In October, Jon delivered a two-day workshop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for IT specialists. The group needed to improve both their presentation skills, and ability to problem-solve with internal clients using collaboration and negotiation. They had a full programme to build their skills, using lots of practice activities; the same company has commissioned Jon to conduct a repeat workshop in Germany in December.

Jon & David ran two modules for managers from all over Africa and the middle east. This market is growing rapidly, and so the programme focused on leadership skills, building teams and managing change. The participants worked on collaborative learning projects between modules, and have since kept in touch to support each other. Further programmes are planned in 2017/18.